History of Diabetes

Diabetes was known in Ancient Egypt, but only much more recently did we have really effective means for making it a livable disease.

The Diabetes Museum in Munich has a lot of examples of experimental syringes, insulin pumps, and information on the history of diabetes and its diagnosis and treatment.

Through them I also discovered the Diabetes Flame of Hope, eternally burning in Canada until a cure is found.

And here is the "Starvation Diet" for diabetics from 1915, found on the Smithsonian Institute website:

Creepy Dolls

HERE

Because Superheroes are still Superheroes in utero

This and much, much more from the artist Alexandre Nicolas featured in the blog Dexterina

All About That Bass--I mean Butt/Ass

"Like a round, shiny mirror, Kardashian’s butt reflects back to us our myriad cultural panics and anxieties"

It seems Salon is harkening back to an earlier trope whereby rounded mirrors did indeed reflect our worst sides:

From Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights

Many more instances can be found in German renaissance prints.

I'm afraid I can't remember the printers' names and "demon ass mirror" simply doesn't work well in search engines.

Self-Mummification/Sokushinbutsu

See the story by Ancient Origins, found via Cult of the Weird.

Tampons in Ancient Greece?

See the full story at Wonders and Marvels.

The Music of Alchemists

And another, with full instruments:

This is from Michael Maier’s 1617 Atalanta Fugiens

Volvelles, paper astrolabes, and weird medical stuff! Again!

From Architectural Intentions from Vitruvius to the Renaissance. Here are some neato pictures:

One Minute Puberty, in Animation

See the video in a Post by Grupo DeFato.

THE FIRST DAY OF MENSTRUATION:

Haunting Smells

This New Yorker article chronicles haunted houses that utilize smells in strange and disturbing ways.

Some excerpts:

New Yorker Quote of the Day: "Egner’s personal favorite haunted scent experience was another bait-and-switch scene: as visitors approached a dimly lit table, they could smell roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, and see dishes piled high with food—which turned out, on closer inspection, to be cured hog guts and other viscera. 'I’m sure that we ruined somebody’s Thanksgiving that year,' Egner told me gleefully."

But the only time that a smell has been toned down midseason was this year—and it was for the benefit of the staff rather than the visitors. “There’s a really strong cat-urine smell this year, and it is really sticking with us,” Egner said. “Our clothes, our hair … I have a dog, and he is very confused when I get home.”